Nizar Farsakh

Trained (in Arabic) a group of 35 senior NGO executives from 10 Arab countries on NGO management, focusing on strategy and leadership within their organizations.

For over ten years, Ahel has adapted and disseminated the principles and practice of Harvard’s renowned leadership course across the Arab world to help build the agentic capacity of Arab communities. And now, thanks to that experience and the continuous support of Prof. Marshall Ganz at Harvard, Ahel was able to provide this training online to reach communities that hitherto did not have access to it. My role in this pioneering project was to market the course through my network of activists and organizations that support activists in the Arab world to get high-quality candidates to apply. People with a track record of commitment to their communities and demonstrated belief in enabling lateral leadership.

Over three years, trained over 70 Iraqi activists from different regions and sects on leadership, organizing and advocacy. The training helped them develop stronger social and political campaigns, enhanced their resourcefulness and intersectional networking within Iraq, and embolden them to lead in the current social movement.